Word that means plot

сюжет, график, заговор, участок земли, план, наносить, вычерчивать, чертить

существительное ↓

глагол ↓

Словосочетания

a movie with a flimsy plot — фильм со слабым сюжетом  
a précis of the book’s plot — краткое изложение сюжета книги  
a film with an improbable plot — кино с невероятным сюжетом  
a plot to assassinate the President — заговор с целью убийства президента  
to plot curve point by point — строить кривую по точкам  
plot device — двигатель сюжета  
to plot on a map — наносить на карту  
to devise / hatch / lay a plot — вынашивать, замышлять, подготавливать заговор  
to expose a plot — раскрывать заговор  
cunning / diabolic / sinister plot — коварный, дьявольский заговор  
simple plot — простой, незамысловатый сюжет  
to plot a mischievous plan — готовить злые планы  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Фразовые глаголы

plot out — распределять, делить на участки

Возможные однокоренные слова

plotter  — графопостроитель, заговорщик, интриган, построитель кривых
underplot  — тайный замысел, побочная интрига, второстепенная интрига
plotful  — заговорщический
plotless  — бессюжетный, безопасный, свободный от заговоров, выборочный
plottage  — площадь участка, общий размер
plotting  — построение, вычерчивание графика или, составлять график

Формы слова

verb
I/you/we/they: plot
he/she/it: plots
ing ф. (present participle): plotting
2-я ф. (past tense): plotted
3-я ф. (past participle): plotted

noun
ед. ч.(singular): plot
мн. ч.(plural): plots

In a literary work, film, or other narrative, the plot is the sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of events linked by the connector «and so». Plots can vary from the simple—such as in a traditional ballad—to forming complex interwoven structures, with each part sometimes referred to as a subplot or imbroglio.

Plot is similar in meaning to the term storyline.^[2][3] In the narrative sense, the term highlights important points which have consequences within the story, according to American science fiction writer Ansen Dibell.^[1] The term plot can also serve as a verb, referring to either the writer’s crafting of a plot (devising and ordering story events), or else to a character’s planning of future actions in the story.

The term plot, however, in common usage (for example, a «movie plot») can mean a narrative summary or story synopsis, rather than a specific cause-and-effect sequence.

Definition[edit]

Early 20th-century English novelist E. M. Forster described plot as the cause-and-effect relationship between events in a story. According to Forster, «The king died, and then the queen died, is a story, while The king died, and then the queen died of grief, is a plot.»^[4][5][6]

Teri Shaffer Yamada, Ph.D., of CSULB, agrees that a plot does not include memorable scenes within a story that do not relate directly to other events but only «major events that move the action in a narrative.»^[7] For example, in the 1997 film Titanic, when Rose climbs on the railing at the front of the ship and spreads her hands as if she’s flying, this scene is memorable but does not directly influence other events, so it may not be considered as part of the plot. Another example of a memorable scene that is not part of the plot occurs in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, when Han Solo is frozen in carbonite.^[1]

Fabula and syuzhet[edit]

The literary theory of Russian Formalism in the early 20th century divided a narrative into two elements: the fabula (фа́була) and the syuzhet (сюже́т), or the «raw material» and the «way it is organized». A fabula is the events in the fictional world, whereas a syuzhet is a perspective of those events. Formalist followers eventually translated the fabula/syuzhet to the concept of story/plot. This definition is usually used in narratology, in parallel with Forster’s definition. The fabula (story) is what happened in chronological order. In contrast, the syuzhet (plot) means a unique sequence of discourse that was sorted out by the (implied) author. That is, the syuzhet can consist of picking up the fabula events in non-chronological order; for example, fabula is ⟨a₁, a₂, a₃, a₄, a₅, …, a_n⟩, syuzhet is ⟨a₅, a₁, a₃⟩.

The Russian formalist, Viktor Shklovsky, viewed the syuzhet as the fabula defamiliarized. Defamiliarization or «making strange,» a term Shklovsky coined and popularized, upends familiar ways of presenting a story, slows down the reader’s perception, and makes the story appear unfamiliar.^[8] Shklovsky cites Lawrence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy as an example of a fabula that has been defamiliarized.^[9] Sterne uses temporal displacements, digressions, and causal disruptions (for example, placing the effects before their causes) to slow down the reader’s ability to reassemble the (familiar) story. As a result, the syuzhet «makes strange» the fabula.

Examples[edit]

Cinderella[edit]

A story orders events from beginning to end in a time sequence.^[1]

Consider the following events in the European folk tale «Cinderella»:

• The prince searches for Cinderella with the glass shoe
  • Cinderella’s sisters try the shoe on themselves but it does not fit them
• The shoe fits Cinderella’s foot so the prince finds her

The first event is causally related to the third event, while the second event, though descriptive, does not directly impact the outcome. As a result, according to Ansen Dibell, the plot can be described as the first event «and so» the last event, while the story can be described by all three events in order.

The Wizard of Oz[edit]

Steve Alcorn, a fiction-writing coach, says that the main plot elements of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz are easy to find, and include:^[10]

1. A tornado picks up a house and drops it on a witch
2. A little girl meets some interesting traveling companions
3. A wizard sends them on a mission
4. They melt a witch with a bucket of water

Concepts[edit]

Structure and treatment[edit]

Dramatic structure is the philosophy by which the story is split and how the story is thought of. This can vary by ethnicity, region and time period. This can be applied to books, plays, and films. Philosophers/critics who have discussed story structure include Aristotle, Horace, Aelius Donatus, Gustav Freytag, Kenneth Thorpe Rowe, Lajos Egri, Syd Field, and others. Some story structures are so old that the originator cannot be found, such as Ta’zieh.

Often in order to sell a script, the plot structure is made into what is called a treatment. This can vary based on locality, but for Europe and European Diaspora, the three-act structure is often used. The components of this structure are the set-up, the confrontation and the resolution. Acts are connected by two plot points or turning points, with the first turning point connecting Act I to Act II, and the second connecting Act II to Act III. The conception of the three-act structure has been attributed to American screenwriter Syd Field who described plot structure in this tripartite way for film analysis.

Furthermore, in order to sell a book within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, often the plot structure is split into a synopsis. Again the plot structure may vary by genre or drama structure used.

Aristotle[edit]

Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics (c. 335 BC).

In his Poetics, a theory about tragedies, the Greek philosopher Aristotle put forth the idea the play should imitate a single whole action. «A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end» (1450b27).^[11] He split the play into two acts: complication and denouement.^[12] He mainly used Sophocles to make his argument about the proper dramatic structure of a play.

Two types of scenes are of special interest: the reversal, which throws the action in a new direction, and the recognition, meaning the protagonist has an important revelation.^[13] Reversals should happen as a necessary and probable cause of what happened before, which implies that turning points need to be properly set up.^[13] He ranked the order of importance of the play to be: Chorus, Events, Diction, Character, Spectacle.^[12] And that all plays should be able to be performed from memory, long and easy to understand.^[14] He was against character-centric plots stating “The Unity of a Plot does not consist, as some suppose, in its having one man as its subject.”^[15] He was against episodic plots.^[16] He held that discovery should be the high point of the play and that the action should teach a moral that is reenforced by pity, fear and suffering.^[17] The spectacle, not the characters themselves would give rise to the emotions.^[18] The stage should also be split into “Prologue, Episode, Exode, and a choral portion, distinguished into Parode and Stasimon…“^[19]

Unlike later, he held that the morality was the center of the play and what made it great. Unlike popular belief, he did not come up with the three act structure popularly known.

Gustav Freytag[edit]

The German playwright and novelist Gustav Freytag wrote Die Technik des Dramas,^[21] a definitive study of the five-act dramatic structure, in which he laid out what has come to be known as Freytag’s pyramid.^[22] Under Freytag’s pyramid, the plot of a story consists of five parts:^[23][20]

1. Exposition (originally called introduction)
2. Rising action (rise)
3. Climax
4. Falling action (return or fall)
5. Catastrophe, denouement, resolution, or revelation^[24] or «rising and sinking». Freytag is indifferent as to which of the contending parties justice favors; in both groups, good and evil, power and weakness, are mingled.^[25]

A drama is then divided into five parts, or acts, which some refer to as a dramatic arc: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and catastrophe. Freytag extends the five parts with three moments or crises: the exciting force, the tragic force, and the force of the final suspense. The exciting force leads to the rising action, the tragic force leads to the falling action, and the force of the final suspense leads to the catastrophe. Freytag considers the exciting force to be necessary but the tragic force and the force of the final suspense are optional. Together, they make the eight component parts of the drama.^[20]

In making his argument, he attempts to retcon much of the Greeks and Shakespeare by making opinions of what they meant, but didn’t actually say.^[26]

He argued for tension created through contrasting emotions, but didn’t actively argue for conflict.^[27] He argued that character comes first in plays.^[28] He also set up the groundwork for what would later be called the inciting incident.^[29]

Overall, Freytag argued the center of a play is emotionality and the best way to get that emotionality is to put contrasting emotions back to back. He laid some of the foundations for centering the hero, unlike Aristotle. He is popularly attributed to have stated conflict at the center of his plays, but he argues actively against continuing conflict.^[30]

Parts:

Introduction

The setting is fixed in a particular place and time, the mood is set, and characters are introduced. A backstory may be alluded to. Exposition can be conveyed through dialogues, flashbacks, characters’ asides, background details, in-universe media, or the narrator telling a back-story.^[31]

Rise

An exciting force begins immediately after the exposition (introduction), building the rising action in one or several stages toward the point of greatest interest. These events are generally the most important parts of the story since the entire plot depends on them to set up the climax and ultimately the satisfactory resolution of the story itself.^[32]

Climax

The climax is the turning point, which changes the protagonist’s fate. If things were going well for the protagonist, the plot will turn against them, often revealing the protagonist’s hidden weaknesses.^[33] If the story is a comedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from bad to good for the protagonist, often requiring the protagonist to draw on hidden inner strengths.

A plot with an exciting climax is said to be climactic. A disappointing scene is instead called anticlimactic.^[34]

Return or Fall
During the Return, the hostility of the counter-party beats upon the soul of the hero. Freytag lays out two rules for this stage: the number of characters be limited as much as possible, and the number of scenes through which the hero falls should be fewer than in the rising movement. The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense: Although the catastrophe must be foreshadowed so as not to appear as a non sequitur, there could be for the doomed hero a prospect of relief, where the final outcome is in doubt.^[35]

Catastrophe

The catastrophe («Katastrophe» in the original)^[36] is where the hero meets his logical destruction. Freytag warns the writer not to spare the life of the hero.^[37] More generally, the final result of a work’s main plot has been known in English since 1705 as the denouement (, ;^[38]). It comprises events from the end of the falling action to the actual ending scene of the drama or narrative. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Etymologically, the French word dénouement (French: [denumɑ̃]) is derived from the word dénouer, «to untie», from nodus, Latin for «knot.» It is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.^{[citation needed]}

Plot devices[edit]

A plot device is a means of advancing the plot in a story. It is often used to motivate characters, create urgency, or resolve a difficulty. This can be contrasted with moving a story forward with dramatic technique; that is, by making things happen because characters take action for well-developed reasons. An example of a plot device would be when the cavalry shows up at the last moment and saves the day in a battle. In contrast, an adversarial character who has been struggling with himself and saves the day due to a change of heart would be considered dramatic technique.

Familiar types of plot devices include the deus ex machina, the MacGuffin, the red herring, and Chekhov’s gun.

Plot outline[edit]

A plot outline is a prose telling of a story which can be turned into a screenplay. Sometimes it is called a «one page» because of its length. In comics, the roughs refer to a stage in the development where the story has been broken down very loosely in a style similar to storyboarding in film development. This stage is also referred to as storyboarding or layouts. In Japanese manga, this stage is called the nemu (pronounced like the English word «name»). The roughs are quick sketches arranged within a suggested page layout. The main goals of roughs are to:

• lay out the flow of panels across a page
• ensure the story successfully builds suspense
• work out points of view, camera angles, and character positions within panels
• serve as a basis for the next stage of development, the «pencil» stage, where detailed drawings are produced in a more polished layout which will, in turn, serve as the basis for the inked drawings.

In fiction writing, a plot outline gives a list of scenes. Scenes include events, character(s) and setting. Plot, therefore, shows the cause and effect of these things put together. The plot outline is a rough sketch of this cause and effect made by the scenes to lay out a «solid backbone and structure» to show why and how things happened as they did.

Plot summary[edit]

A plot summary is a brief description of a piece of literature that explains what happens. In a plot summary, the author and title of the book should be referred to and it is usually no more than a paragraph long while summarizing the main points of the story.^[39][40]

A-Plot[edit]

An A-Plot is a cinema and television term referring to the plotline that drives the story. This does not necessarily mean it is the most important, but rather the one that forces most of the action.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Freytag, Gustav (1900) [Copyright 1894], Freytag’s Technique of the Drama, An Exposition of Dramatic Composition and Art by Dr. Gustav Freytag: An Authorized Translation From the Sixth German Edition by Elias J. MacEwan, M.A. (3rd ed.), Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, LCCN 13-283
• Mack, Maynard; Knox, Bernard M. W.; McGaillard, John C.; et al., eds. (1985), The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, vol. 1 (5th ed.), New York: W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 0-393-95432-3

Further reading[edit]

• Obstfeld, Raymond (2002). Fiction First Aid: Instant Remedies for Novels, Stories and Scripts. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. ISBN 1-58297-117-X.
• Foster-Harris (1960). The Basic Formulas of Fiction. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ASIN B0007ITQBY.
• Polking, K (1990). Writing A to Z. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-435-8.

External links[edit]

• The «Basic» Plots In Literature, Information on the most common divisions of the basic plots, from the Internet Public Library organization.
• Plot Definition, meaning and examples
• The Minimal Plot, on cyclic structures of the basic plots by Yevgeny Slavutin and Vladimir Pimonov.

Plot definition: Plot is the way an author develops a series of events in a text.

What does plot mean? Plot is the storyline of a text. An author puts together a series of events to create a story. The sequence of that series of events is the plot.

Typically, an author develops a plot in such a way to pique the reader’s interest. That said, the storyline is not usually resolved until the near end of the text.

A simple example of plot using the fable The Tortoise and The Hare,

• A race was run between a tortoise and a hare
• The hare was sure he would win.
• He stopped frequently along the way to display his confidence.
• The tortoise did not think he would win but never gave up.
• The hare became distracted.
• The tortoise crossed the finish line first and won the race.

Structures of Traditional Plots

There is a traditional plot structure that many texts follow. Below is a common plot line example.

Exposition

The exposition is the introduction to the story. Characters and setting are introduced.

Rising Action

The rising action presents a central conflict within a character or between one or more character. The conflict builds during the rising action.

Climax

The climax occurs when the conflict is at its peak and when there seems to be no viable solution to the conflict.

Falling Action

The falling action occurs after the climax when the reader is still unsure if the protagonist will be able to resolve the conflict.

Denouement

The denouement (also called the resolution) is the conclusion to the plot. Typically, the conflict is resolved at this point.

The Function of Plot

A story does not exist without a plot. A plot includes every event that occurs throughout a text.

The plot should be developed in such a way to interest the readers and to keep them guessing at the next points.

A good plot is one that has well-developed characters who are engaging in several conflicts.

Plot Examples in Literature

When an author writes a text, he wants to create interest for his readers. The overarching way for a writer to achieve this is through plot.

Readers put down a book because the storyline is uninteresting to them; furthermore, readers continue to read a text because of its plot components.

Some good examples of literary plots are held within the works of Shakespeare. Most Shakespeare plays follow the traditional plot structure, where Act I serves as the exposition, Act 3 the climax, and Act 5 the denouement.

Uses of Plot in Everyday Language

• The result is a story at once fabulist and searingly precise, driven by a deadpan voice that manages to do equal literary justice to the suspense of the plot, the author’s version of historical truth and the emotions evoked by its protagonist, the young runaway slave Cora. –The Wall Street Journal

• Book groups have been a popular plot device in commercial fiction. It’s a handy way to get a group of people together, and they’ll always have something to talk about. –The Washington Post

Summary: What is Plot in Literature?

Define plot in literature: the definition of plot in literature is the sequence of events that made up a storyline.

In summary, a plot is the basic storyline of a text. Most plots follow a traditional pattern, where the climax is the turning point of the text. A good plot generally leads to an interesting novel, as plot encompasses most literary elements.

Contents

• 1 What is a Plot?
• 2 Structures of Traditional Plots
• 3 The Function of Plot
• 4 Plot Examples in Literature
• 5 Uses of Plot in Everyday Language
• 6 Summary: What is Plot in Literature?

Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:3.1 / 22 votes

1. plot, secret plan, gamenoun

   a secret scheme to do something (especially something underhand or illegal)

   «they concocted a plot to discredit the governor»; «I saw through his little game from the start»

2. plot, plot of land, plot of ground, patchnoun

   a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation

   «a bean plot»; «a cabbage patch»; «a briar patch»

3. plotnoun

   the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.

   «the characters were well drawn but the plot was banal»

4. plotverb

   a chart or map showing the movements or progress of an object

5. plotverb

   plan secretly, usually something illegal

   «They plotted the overthrow of the government»

6. diagram, plotverb

   make a schematic or technical drawing of that shows interactions among variables or how something is constructed

7. plat, plotverb

   make a plat of

   «Plat the town»

8. plotverb

   devise the sequence of events in (a literary work or a play, movie, or ballet)

   «the writer is plotting a new novel»

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 9 votes

1. plotnoun

   The general course of a story including significant events that determine its course or significant patterns of events.

2. plotnoun

   An area or land used for building on or planting on.

3. plotnoun

   A plan to commit a crime.

4. plotnoun

   A graph or diagram drawn by hand or produced by a mechanical or electronic device.

5. plotverb

   To conceive (a crime, etc).

   They had plotted a robbery.

6. plotverb

   To trace out (a graph or diagram).

   They plotted the number of edits per day.

7. plotverb

   To mark (a point on a graph, chart, etc).

   Every five minutes they plotted their position.

8. plotverb

   To conceive a crime, misdeed, etc.

   They were plotting against the king.

9. Etymology: From plot, plotte, from plot, from plataz, of uncertain origin. Cognate with plet, Bletz,. See also plat.

Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PLOTnoun

   Etymology: plot , Saxon.

   1. A small extent of ground.

   It was a chosen plot of fertile land,
   Amongst wide waves set like a little nest,
   As if it had by nature’s cunning hand
   Been choicely picked out from all the rest.
   Fairy Queen.

   Plant ye with alders or willowes a plot,
   Where yeerely as needeth mo poles may be got.
   Thomas Tusser.

   Many unfrequented plots there are,
   Fitted by kind for rape and villainy.
   William Shakespeare.

   Were there but this single plot to lose,
   This mould of Marcius, they to dust would grind it,
   And throw’t against the wind.
   William Shakespeare.

   When we mean to build,
   We first survey the plot, then draw the model,
   And when we see the figure of the house,
   Then we must rate the cost of the erection.
   William Shakespeare.

   Weeds grow not in the wild uncultivated waste, but in garden plots under the negligent hand of a gardener.
   John Locke.

   2. A plantation laid out.

   Some goddess inhabiteth this region, who is the soul of this soil; for neither is any less than a goddess, worthy to be shrined in such a heap of pleasures; nor any less than a goddess could have made it so perfect a plot.
   Philip Sidney.

   3. A form; a scheme; a plan.

   The law of England never was properly applied unto the Irish nation, as by a purposed plot of government, but as they could insinuate and steal themselves under the same by their humble carriage.
   Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

   4. [Imagined by Stephen Skinner to be derived from platform, but evidently contracted from complot, Fr.] A conspiracy; a secret design formed against another.

   I have o’erheard a plot of death upon him.
   William Shakespeare.

   Easy seems the thing to every one,
   That nought could cross their plot, or them suppress.
   Dan.

   5. An intrigue; an affair complicated, involved and embarrassed; the story of a play, comprising an artful involution of affairs, unravelled at last by some unexpected means.

   If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before.
   Alexander Pope.

   Nothing must be sung between the acts,
   But what some way conduces to the plot.
   Wentworth Dillon.

   Our author
   Produc’d his play, and begg’d the knight’s advice,
   Made him observe the subject and the plot,
   The manners, passions, unities, what not?
   Alexander Pope.

   They deny the plot to be tragical, because its catastrophe is a wedding, which hath ever been accounted comical.
   John Gay.

   6. Stratagem; secret combination to any ill end.

   Frustrate all our plots and wiles.
   John Milton.

   7. Contrivance; deep reach of thought.

   Who says he was not
   A man of much plot,
   May repent that false accusation;
   Having plotted and pen’d
   Six plays to attend
   The farce of his negociation.
   John Denham.

2. To Plotverb

   1. To plan; to contrive.

   With shame and sorrow fill’d:
   Shame for his folly; sorrow out of time
   For plotting an unprofitable crime.
   Dryden.

   2. To describe according to ichnography.

   This treatise plotteth down Cornwall, as it now standeth, for the particulars.
   Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall.

3. To Plotverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To form schemes of mischief against another, commonly against those in authority.

   The subtle traitor
   This day had plotted in the council house
   To murther me.
   William Shakespeare, Richard III.

   The wicked plotteth against the just.
   Psalm xxxvii. 12.

   He who envies now thy state,
   Who now is plotting how he may seduce
   Thee from obedience.
   John Milton, Par. Lost, b. vi.

   The wolf that round th’ inclosure prowl’d
   To leap the fence, now plots not on the fold.
   Dryden.

   2. To contrive; to scheme.

   The count tells the marquis of a flying noise, that the prince did plot to be secretly gone; to which the marquis answer’d, that though love had made his highness steal out of his own country, yet fear would never make him run out of Spain.
   Henry Wotton.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Plotnoun

   a small extent of ground; a plat; as, a garden plot

2. Plotnoun

   a plantation laid out

3. Plotnoun

   a plan or draught of a field, farm, estate, etc., drawn to a scale

4. Plotverb

   to make a plot, map, pr plan, of; to mark the position of on a plan; to delineate

5. Plotnoun

   any scheme, stratagem, secret design, or plan, of a complicated nature, adapted to the accomplishment of some purpose, usually a treacherous and mischievous one; a conspiracy; an intrigue; as, the Rye-house Plot

6. Plotnoun

   a share in such a plot or scheme; a participation in any stratagem or conspiracy

7. Plotnoun

   contrivance; deep reach of thought; ability to plot or intrigue

8. Plotnoun

   a plan; a purpose

9. Plotnoun

   in fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means

10. Plotverb

    to form a scheme of mischief against another, especially against a government or those who administer it; to conspire

11. Plotverb

    to contrive a plan or stratagem; to scheme

12. Plotverb

    to plan; to scheme; to devise; to contrive secretly

13. Etymology: [AS. plot; cf. Goth. plats a patch. Cf. Plat a piece of ground.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Plot

   Plot is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect. An intricate, complicated plot is called an imbroglio, but even the simplest statements of plot may include multiple inferences, as in traditional ballads.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Plot

   plot, n. a small piece of ground: a plan of a field, &c., drawn on paper: a patch or spot on clothes.—v.t. to make a plan of:—pr.p. plot′ting; pa.t. and pa.p. plot′ted. [A.S. plot.]

2. Plot

   plot, n. a complicated scheme, esp. for a mischievous purpose: a conspiracy: stratagem: the chain of incidents which are gradually unfolded in the story of a play, &c.—v.i. to scheme: to form a scheme of mischief: to conspire.—v.t. to devise:—pr.p. plot′ting; pa.t. and pa.p. plot′ted.—adj. Plot′ful.—adj. Plot′-proof, safe from any danger by plots.—ns. Plot′ter, one who plots: a conspirator; Plot′ting.—adv. Plot′tingly. [Fr. complot, acc. to Diez, from L. complicitum, pa.p. of complicāre, to fold.]

3. Plot

   plot, v.t. (Scot.) to scald, steep in very hot water.—n. Plot′tie, a kind of mulled wine.

Dictionary of Military and Associated TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. plot

   1. Map, chart, or graph representing data of any sort. 2. Representation on a diagram or chart of the position or course of a target in terms of angles and distances from positions; location of a position on a map or a chart. 3. The visual display of a single location of an airborne object at a particular instant of time. 4. A portion of a map or overlay on which are drawn the outlines of the areas covered by one or more photographs. See also master plot.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. plot

   A plan or chart. (See ICHNOGRAPHY.)

Matched Categories

1. • Contrive
   • Draw
   • Plan
   • Story
   • Tract

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘plot’ in Nouns Frequency: #1642

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘plot’ in Verbs Frequency: #1061

How to pronounce plot?

How to say plot in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of plot in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of plot in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of plot in a Sentence

1. James Carville:

   B —- ing about a Democratic senator in West Virginia is missing the damn plot.

2. Markwayne Mullin:

   >( CNN) It’s like the plot of a( bad) thriller movie.A congressman embarks on a secret mission to rescue five American citizens, demanding a huge sum of cash from an ambassador — immediately ! — to make it all work.Truth, as people who follow politics closely, is always stranger than fiction.Which brings us to the curious case of Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin and Markwayne Mullin suspended attempt to enter Afghanistan with a big sack of money that Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin hoped would be arranged for Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin by the US ambassador to Tajikistan.As The Washington Post, which broke the story, noted : Read More.

3. Barack Obama:

   Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland.

4. Jamil Abu Bakr:

   Sykes-Picot partitioned the Arab world and prepared the ground to absorb the Zionist entity and execute the plot to set it up and to keep Arabs weak.

5. President Barack Obama:

   Right now, we know of no specific and credible intelligence indicating a plot on the homeland, we are taking every possible step to keep our homeland safe.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

---

Translations for plot

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

• حبكة, مؤامرةArabic
• trama, conspirar, traçar, complot, gràfica, marjal, traçada, terreny, solar, argument, marcar, planejar, conspiracióCatalan, Valencian
• nákres, děj, obsah, výkres, parcela, spiknutíCzech
• Komplott, ausarbeiten, Handlung, entwerfen, planen, plottenGerman
• αγροτεμάχιο, συνωμοσία, πλοκήGreek
• komplotoEsperanto
• diagrama, trazar, solar, plano, conspiración, argumento, tramar, trama, complot, conspirar, gráfica, loteSpanish
• süžee, sündmustikEstonian
• طرحPersian
• merkitä, [[piirtää]] [[käyrä]], juoni, diagrammi, tulostaa, kuvio, juonia, tontti, suunnitella, palsta, juonitella, piirtää, salajuoni, plotata, käyrä, graafiFinnish
• conspirer, diagramme, intrigue, complot, tracer, graphique, lopinFrench
• marcáil, ceapachIrish
• gnìomhadhScottish Gaelic
• telek, cselekmény, földdarab, történetHungarian
• սյուժեArmenian
• brugga launráð, reitur, teikning, blettur, graf, lóð, kortleggja, skiki, ráðabruggIcelandic
• complotto, cospirare, congiurare, ordito, diagramma, ordire, marcare, piano, tratto, intrigare, parcella, macchinazione, canovaccio, intrigo, tracciare, complottare, disegnare, appezzamento, trama, pianificare, lotto, congiura, schema, planimetria, tramare, macchinare, pezzo, cospirazione, graficoItalian
• עלילהHebrew
• プロットJapanese
• შინაარსიGeorgian
• 음모Korean
• coniūrātiō, insidiaeLatin
• whakangārahu, kaikaiwaiū, kara, kōrero kaioraora, pito whenua, whakatakoto kara, ngakingaMāori
• samenzwering, grafiek, plotten, diagram, perceel, bedenken, plot, complotDutch
• fabuła, wykres, spisek, działkaPolish
• complô, diagrama, conceber, trama, lote, marcar, argumento, traçar, gráficoPortuguese
• allwiyQuechua
• subiect, urzi, complotRomanian
• граф, делянка, сговор, сюжет, диаграмма, заговор, фабула, график, участок, наделRussian
• kovati, snutiSerbo-Croatian
• sammansvärjning, intrig, komplott, handling, konspireraSwedish
• arsaTurkish
• 情节Chinese

Get even more translations for plot »

Translation

Find a translation for the plot definition in other languages:

Select another language:

• — Select —
• 简体中文 (Chinese — Simplified)
• 繁體中文 (Chinese — Traditional)
• Español (Spanish)
• Esperanto (Esperanto)
• 日本語 (Japanese)
• Português (Portuguese)
• Deutsch (German)
• العربية (Arabic)
• Français (French)
• Русский (Russian)
• ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
• 한국어 (Korean)
• עברית (Hebrew)
• Gaeilge (Irish)
• Українська (Ukrainian)
• اردو (Urdu)
• Magyar (Hungarian)
• मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
• Indonesia (Indonesian)
• Italiano (Italian)
• தமிழ் (Tamil)
• Türkçe (Turkish)
• తెలుగు (Telugu)
• ภาษาไทย (Thai)
• Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
• Čeština (Czech)
• Polski (Polish)
• Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
• Românește (Romanian)
• Nederlands (Dutch)
• Ελληνικά (Greek)
• Latinum (Latin)
• Svenska (Swedish)
• Dansk (Danish)
• Suomi (Finnish)
• فارسی (Persian)
• ייִדיש (Yiddish)
• հայերեն (Armenian)
• Norsk (Norwegian)
• English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

---

Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography: